Ten Things about THE DAY!
Posted by UFreak in 
JAMESON!….rock on with your Irish eyes!
The Ten Things
Aahh, St. Patrick’s Day: the day when each one of your friends and even your grandfather seems to be Irish. This is probably the only day when you’ll dig through your closet, just to find that special green something to wear wherever you go. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the world, and for many, it’s a day to relax and drink, whether it’s Guinness or just some random green beer served at the bar. Many think St. Patrick’s Day is just about wearing green, drinking, and dealing with the hangover the next day. However, there are probably some things that many don’t know about St. Patrick’s Day.
Below is a list of ten things that you may not have known about the special day celebrated on March 17 of each year. Some of these facts you’ll find surprising, while others are a little bit more expected, especially if you’ve participated in a St. Patrick’s Day festivity once in your live. And of course, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
10. Shamrocks
Of course with St. Patrick’s Day comes the massive appearance of shamrocks. Whether you’re wearing one pinned to your lapel or you have them on your socks, shamrocks have definitely become a central symbol for this day. In the olden days in Ireland, the shamrock was seen as sacred. Due to its green color and overall shape, many believed it to represent rebirth and life. The four leaves of the clover represent faith, love, hope, and of course, luck. Because of this, the shamrock has continued to be very popular in the Irish culture. When the Irish were under control of the English, many silent protests were held, and each person would wear a shamrock pinned to their shirt. From then on the shamrock has became a very well-known symbol that represents Ireland and the Irish people.
9. Prohibition in Ireland…Really
When you think of March 17, you almost surely will think of beer, and when you think of someone Irish, you probably think of beer and pubs as well. But, in the history of Ireland, beer wasn’t always a given on this widely-celebrated day. in 1903, a member of the Irish parliament, James O’Mara introduced a new bill that called to recognize St. Patrick’s Day as a religious observation in Ireland. However, because this was made a law, this meant that all of the local pubs had to close; therefore, no beer was readily available. So for 67 years, the Irish suffered through a total shut down of all pubs until 1970 when the law was overturned and the holiday was no longer a religious observance, but a national holiday.
8. Only Three Countries Truly Care
While many countries all over the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, from the U.S. to Australia to Argentina and South Korea, only a very select few countries have actually made this day a public holiday for everyone. First, the very tiny island sometimes known as “Emerald Island of the Caribbean,” Montserrat, is one of three countries that publicly celebrate the holiday. This is due to the high number of Irish refugees that came from Nevis and St. Kitts to the island. So to commemorate them, the holiday is celebrated. The holiday is also considered to be a public one in Newfoundland and Labrador. Here the holiday is celebrated to remember a failed slave uprising that occurred in 1798. And of course, last but not least, Ireland has made March 17 a public holiday as well.
7. Yes, Hallmark Makes Some Money Too
We all know about Hallmark and their greetings that are perfect for some of the most prized holidays such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, and even Valentine’s Day. If you’ve ever given someone a card, or received a card yourself, you’ve probably opened one that was closed by Hallmark’s famous gold seal. Though it seems crazy, on St. Patrick’s Day, Hallmark usually sells anywhere from 8-15 million St. Patrick’s Day cards each year. But, offering these cards to the public isn’t anything new for Hallmark. According to their website, the company has been offering these green cards since the early 1920s, and there is always a wide selection to choose from, usually between 100-150 cards each year.
6. So does McDonalds
If you’ve ever taken a look at McDonald’s “dessert” menu, to put it lightly, you’ve surely seen the pies, ice cream, cookies, and probably even one of those fruit parfaits. You’ve probably also noticed the varying milkshakes that McDonald’s offers, especially during certain holidays and seasons. Usually around the end of February or beginning of March, McDonalds offers its Shamrock Shake. Of course the milkshake is nothing but a green color that tastes like mint. First served in 1970, the shake had become very popular in the U.S., Canada, and Ireland but today is mostly popular in the U.S. Prices of the shake have about doubled in the last decade, and new additions are often added. Recently, McDonalds has served the shakes with whipped cream topped with a cherry.
5. Evacuation Da
With every event that occurs, there’s usually some sort of coincidence to it, and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception. In a few counties in Massachusetts, the state with the largest amount Irish population (about one-fourth), there is a celebration of a day known as Evacuation Day. Mainly the day is celebrated in Somerville, Cambridge, and Suffolk County. While Boston is already well known for its celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, Evacuation Day is important as well. Coincidentally the holiday falls on March 17, but it does commemorate a very special event in Irish history. On March 17, 1876, the British forces left Boston after troops headed by Henry Knox and George Washington placed heavy artillery around the city. To celebrate this significant event, counties in Massachusetts made the day a holiday in 1901. However, the holiday is usually under heavy fire, as some see it as a waste of money, as workers are paid for a day off.
4. Snakes in an Ocean
We’ve all heard one Irish folklore story or another, especially those centered on St. Patrick. One very popular story is that St. Patrick was able to chase all of the snakes out of Ireland where they then drowned in the ocean. However, when it comes down to it, St. Patrick didn’t chase any snakes out of anywhere, nor can you take folklore literally. In all reality, there has never been any record of snakes living anywhere near the Emerald Isle. Instead, figurative language was often used in these folklores, and in this case, the serpents more than likely represented druid and pagan religions that slowly disappeared from Ireland over a period of centuries after St. Patrick is said to have placed the seeds of Christianity there.
3. New York Has More Irish Pride
With a holiday all about the Irish, you’d probably think that the biggest and most widely known celebrations come from nowhere else but Ireland. However, as history shows, Ireland isn’t the country that tops the list with Irish pride, at least not when it comes to celebration and festivities. After decades of studying, no one has found the exact time when St. Patrick’s Day was first widely celebrated. The first known depiction of the holiday comes from a man named Jonathan Swift, who mentions a 1713 celebration taking place in London. The only thing mentioned is a day where Westminster Parliament was given a holiday and that buildings were decorated in green. In 1762 in New York City, the first parade honoring this holiday took place. Today it stands as the largest celebration and parade in the U.S. Almost 3 million people come to see the parade, with contains over 150,000 people that span a mile and a half long.
2. Green or Blue?
Though green is a very popular color on St. Patrick’s Day, the original color that was very popular and often related back to St. Patrick was not green, but blue. However, in today’s world, if you’re without an ounce of green, expect a pinch! In Irish folklore, green is known as being worn by immortals and fairies, and often signified new life and crop growth. Some even say that wearing green is considered to be unlucky as it is known to represent a time in Irish history when Ireland was not a free country. Blue came into the picture long ago when the military men wore “St. Patrick’s Blue” in their uniforms. The blue is also represented during the time when Henry VIII was declared King of Ireland and the flag used was a gold harp on a blue background. But today, green is the prominently known and worn color. In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green using 40 pounds of green vegetable dye.
1. St. Patrick Wasn’t Irish
Because St. Patrick’s Day is so popular in Ireland, and all you really ever hear about on the date is Irish this Irish that, you probably just assume that St. Patrick is well…Irish. However, your assumption would be wrong. St. Patrick was actually Scottish and was said to be either born in Scotland or Wales. Even more shocking is that his name wasn’t even Patrick. His birth name is actually Maewyn Succat. However, at the age of 16, he was kidnapped and sold into Irish slavery. Later on in time he became a priest under bishop of Auxerre and took on the name Patricius, better known as Patrick. Here he felt that this was his calling to being Christianity and Ireland closer together. In any case, the Scottish should get some recognition on this day as well.
Are the Irish eyes a’smilin’ in So Bend?
Is Notre Dame, an institution that for the longest time did not accept invitations to bowl games (and not just in seasons in which it finished 6-6), an institution that for the longest time did not accept female students, and an institution that in football has been forever fiercely independent, finally beginning to seriously consider joining a conference?
On Tuesday in New York City, Fighting Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick met with a few reporters and conceded that, in terms of current conference realignment rumors, “You can each come up with a scenario that would force our hand.”
Such a scenario has two overriding factors: money and brand relevance. Beginning this season ESPN and its partner ABC will have the television rights to the four BCS bowls and the BCS Championship Game through 2014 (ESPN will air the BCS title game from 2011-2013 and ABC, which will retain exclusive control of the Rose Bowl, will air the 2014 BCS championship game from Pasadena). As Disney influence over college football continues to expand, Swarbrick must consider how Notre Dame’s exclusive contract with NBC to air Fighting Irish home games (which runs through 2015) impacts his program.
Currently, Big Ten schools receive $22 million annually in television money, according to a recent report on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.” Notre Dame, through its contract with NBC, receives about $15 million. That’s correct: Indiana and Purdue both earn nearly 50 percent more in television money than fellow in-state program Notre Dame, even though the Irish dwarf both schools in terms of national interest.
Then comes the matter of Notre Dame maintaining — many would say reclaiming — its national prestige.
Swarbrick, a Notre Dame alumnus who earned a law degree from Stanford, said college football is in a period of peak instability, and that “we are at a point right now where the changes could be relatively small, or they could be seismic.” In an environment in which a playoff is seriously being discussed — a scenario that, to listen to the voices who dominate ESPN (and who, presumably, would not be so foolish as to directly contradict the wishes of ESPN executives on air), would be welcomed by that “family of networks” — Swarbrick and Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins, C.S.C., must consider where a Notre Dame that has no conference affiliation and no home games broadcast on ESPN might fit.
It has been 22 years since Notre Dame, a school that won a national championship in all but one decade between the 1920s and 1980s, last played for the national title. And the truth is that when Notre Dame is not mired in mediocrity, as it has been for the past 15 years, its independence only extends its appeal: the school’s many fans and alumni draw strength from it while its even more numerous legion of ardent detractors use it as the source of their vitriol. Either way, Notre Dame football receives more attention than any collegiate program, football or basketball, and most pro sports franchises.
As long as the Irish are winning. It has been a long time, however, since the Irish were consistently special (26-24 over the past four seasons). And so, within the confines of the Golden Dome and the Joyce Athletic & Convocation Center, Fr. Jenkins and Swarbrick, respectively, must wonder whether this fallow period represents a blip or if it is a symptom of the changing landscape of college football. If they conclude the latter, then expect Notre Dame to join a conference.
It is ironic that the first ESPN “College GameDay” episode to air from a campus site took place at Notre Dame (before the 1993 tilt between No. 1 Florida State and the No. 2 Irish). GameDay is emblematic of how college football has changed in the past two decades: host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit are rock stars as soon as they step on campus. GameDay hasn’t visited South Bend in five seasons (the ’05 USC-Notre Dame classic). It’s also somewhat funny that at halftime of ESPN football games viewers are returned to a studio that features Lou Holtz, the last messiah to resurrect Notre Dame from the ashes, while Notre Dame’s NBC viewers get … Jimmy Roberts.
Nearly two decades ago the first age of the super-conference was born, as the Southwest Conference (SWC) was sacrificed in order to create the newfangled SEC and expand the Big 8 to the Big 12. Then in 1992 the SEC, taking advantage of a loophole in the NCAA by-laws, created a lucrative conference championship game. The era of expanding conferences without regard to geography (Louisiana Tech, for example, is a member of the Western Athletic Conference) was upon us.
Swarbrick is concerned, and rightfully so — “I’m spending 50 percent of my time talking to people about this” — that we are at the dawn of the next age of the super-conference. When a few conferences, such as the Pac-10 and Big Ten, expand to join the economic elite of the SEC and Big 12 and separate themselves from the rest of the pack. And perhaps eventually those elite conferences become the framework for a playoff structure. At risk is whether Notre Dame passes up its opportunity to enlist with these elite and the ramifications of failing to do so.
(An aside: In 1987 Sports Illustrated had the opportunity to purchase ESPN. Really. The magazine passed. If you don’t think the magazine regrets that decision every day … some opportunities only come around once.)
The irony in all of this, of course, is that Notre Dame initially became a national brand specifically because it was spurned by the Big Ten. In 1926, as Knute Rockne and the Irish were at the height of their powers, Notre Dame’s application to join the conference was voted down, primarily because the athletic directors at Michigan (Fielding Yost) and the University of Chicago (Amos Alonzo Stagg) were suspicious — and perhaps just a little bit envious — of Rockne’s success. By spurning the Irish, the Big Ten forced Notre Dame to take to the national stage, where the school became the first of its kind to engender coast-to-coast appeal.
Earlier Tuesday a Notre Dame fan spoke for most of the school’s faithful when he remarked on Twitter, “The argument for joining a conference almost always boils down to … ‘We gave up.’ ” There is much truth in that sentiment. An independent Notre Dame that can consistently finish in the top five makes up for in prestige and merchandising much of what it might sacrifice in television money by not aligning with the Big Ten…..UH, DUH! STUPID, ANY TEAM WOULD!!!!….gawd they’re so smart and so stupid all at the same time!
The question is, can an independent Notre Dame draw and develop players who have no personal memory of a time when the Irish were the brand name in college football? Is the Irish brain-trust up to that challenge, or is it simply more expedient to abandon the attempt, to allow the school’s football independence go the way of bowl-game refusals and all-male student bodies?